Joseph Steinberg (CISSP, ISSAP, ISSMP, CSSLP) is a respected cybersecurity expert, executive, and consultant, who is currently serving as C.E.O. of SecureMySocial, a provider of technology that helps businesses protect themselves from the risks of employee social media usage by warning people if they make potentially problematic posts.
Joseph has spent over twenty years in the information technology industry, most recently serving for nine years as CEO of online authentication vendor, Green Armor Solutions, where he remains Chairman, and in several senior capacities at cybersecurity firm, Whale Communications (acquired by Microsoft), for the five years beforehand.
Joseph is the inventor of multiple information-security technologies; his work is cited in over 100 published patents. He has advised various firms and the government on many high-level matters related to cybersecurity, serves as editor of the official (ISC)2 textbook on info-security management, and has authored, or contributed to, several other cybersecurity related books.
Joseph chaired the Financial Advisory Board for a NJ municipality with combined municipal and education budgets of ~$150M, and, in 2007 was named one of New Jersey’s top businesspeople under the age of forty.

An Important Lesson From Abraham Lincoln About Internet News Reports

Yesterday’s posting by a hacker of a false report that President Obama was injured by explosions in the White House onto an official AP Twitter feed – a tweet that caused equity markets to momentarily plummet – underscores the importance of taking everything we read on the Internet with a grain of salt.

“Trust, but verify” was Ronald Reagan’s position when it came to Russian nuclear disarmament agreements. Such a policy is also wise with regard to information obtained via the Internet, as there is never 100% certainty as to who crafted a particular piece of data or whether its sources are accurate.

When one views a web page or Twitter post, what she actually reads is not the original material, but what her computer says the page or tweet is supposed to look like, after the data to form it is transmitted through many routers, servers, and other network devices along the path from the its original source. Malware or other attack technologies along that path can easily modify contents.

Perhaps even scarier than yesterday’s attack on the AP is one in which hackers attack network devices and then configure various forms of proxies to modify some data when it is sent to some recipients – so that different parties see different results when viewing the same page, Twitter feed, or email message. Such an attack can cause pandemonium, and allow for various forms of fraud; imagine, for example, if people in a particular firm or region were provided with, and reacted to, reports of some shocking news (such as yesterday’s lie about President Obama and the subsequent market sell-off), while others were not. Encrypted communications and site authentication cues can help shield against such attacks, but the vast majority of Internet activity presently leverages neither defense.

Furthermore, the issues of accuracy of data are as pertinent as ever. Last week there were numerous erroneous reports from generally respectable and reliable news sources related to the bombings in Boston and the search for the perpetrators. The “need for speed” in today’s age of instant online news has led to compromises when it comes to fact checking.

What does this have to do with Abraham Lincoln?

Everything.

After all, it was he who proclaimed on June 2, 1861, that “The problem with information that you read on the Internet is that it is not always true.”

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.